Vertical farm

ABSTRACT

A spiral building having greenhouse enclosures mounted thereon is provided where the greenhouse enclosures have a slanted glass surface over the growing trays which is oriented toward the perpendicular rays of the sun at the equinox and where the glazing in portions of the exterior is reversed from its normal orientation and the reflective surfaces are on the inside, thus reflecting the light admitted through the glass and directing it to parts of the interior growing area.

A list of design items that include some, but not all of the novel aspects of my version of the vertical farm follows:

1. The spiral design will aways be oriented towards the morning light and reduce the glare of the western (setting) sun, which is the optimum daylight spectra for growing plants.

2. The slanted surface of the glass over the growing trays will be oriented toward the perpendicular rays of the sun at the equinox, thus allowing the maximum amount of natural light to reach the growing surfaces, averaged over the full twelve months of the year. The angle of this surface will vary depending on the position of the farm north or south of the equator. The further north or south, the more vertical the angle, as the sun is, on average, lower in the sky the further north or south of the equator one moves.

3. The glazing in selected portions of the exterior will be reversed from its normal orientation and the reflective surfaces will be on the inside, thus reflecting the light admitted through the glass and directing it to parts of the interior growing area that would normally not get natural light. This will diminish the need for the use of LED lights. Even though the LED lights consume less electric power than do other types of bulbs, they still consume power and thus cost money.

4. Various reflective surfaces will be incorporated into the structure to facilitate the distribution of natural light to all parts of the growing trays. These will probably be made of mylar canvas, so that they can be adjusted by the farm workers to operate at maximum efficiency at all times of the year.

5. The 240′ high version is designed as precast concrete pieces that can be cast anywhere and shipped anywhere in the world and then erected on site. This is accomplished in the following manner:

-   -   a. Each component is sized so that 96% of the seaports in the         world have cranes strong enough to lift an individual piece.     -   b. All of the components can be transported by truck from the         port to the building site. They will fit on a flatbed truck, not         exceed the load limits on most roadways in the world and clear         most obstacles on most roadways in the world.     -   c. All of the components will fit on a standard sea going barge,         allowing them to be towed by seagoing tug boats to any place in         the world.

Larger versions of the vertical farm can be easily done using standard cast in place concrete as the building method, being able to be erected higher and larger in diameter if the site and the projected need warrant it.

In all other aspects the vertical farm utilizes standard construction techniques as would be applied to any factory structure, anywhere in the world.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a close up depiction of a skyscraper embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a depiction of a skyscraper embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a close up depiction of a skyscraper embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a close up depiction of the bottom of a skyscraper embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a close up depiction of the side of a skyscraper embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a close up depiction of an interior floor of a skyscraper embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a close up depiction of interior windows of a skyscraper embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross section of a skyscraper embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is blown out view of basic components and a basic module of a skyscraper embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a depiction of a piece of a skyscraper embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a depiction of another piece of a skyscraper embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a depiction of yet another piece of a skyscraper embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a depiction of yet another piece of a skyscraper embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a depiction of yet another piece of a skyscraper embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a depiction of a further piece of a skyscraper embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a depiction of yet another piece of a skyscraper embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a depiction of yet another piece of a skyscraper embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a depiction of yet another piece of a skyscraper embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a depiction of yet another piece of a skyscraper embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a depiction of component pieces of a skyscraper embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a depiction of a pie shaped glass enclosure in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a depiction of another pie shaped glass enclosure in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a depiction of another pie shaped glass enclosure in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a depiction of another pie shaped glass enclosure in an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

TABLE 1 SCHEDULE OF PRECAST STRUCTURAL CONCRETE COMPONENTS NEEDED TO CONSTRUCT A 240 FOOT HIGH VERTICAL FARM BUILDING PIECE APPROXIMATE WEIGHT PER NUMBER TOTAL MARK DIMENSIONS PIECE REQUIRED WEIGHT A 58′ × 3′ × 0.667′ 8.6 US Tons 49 Pieces 421.4 US Tons B 51′ × 2′ × 0.75′ 6.5 US Tons 98 Pieces 637.0 US Tons C1* 51′ × 12′ × 0.667′ 29.2 US Tons 49 Pieces 1,430.8 US Tons C2* 51′ × 12.667′ × 0.667′ 31.0 US Tons 98 Pieces 3,038.0 US Tons D 54′ × 7′ × 0.833′ 21.72 US Tons 50 Pieces 1,086.0 US Tons E1* 16′ × 14′ × 1′ 15.9 US Tons 49 Pieces 779.1 US Tons E2 16′ × 14′ × 1′ 9.3 US Tons 12 Pieces 111.6 US Tons E3* 16′ × 14′ × 1′ 16.7 US Tons 37 Pieces 617.9 US Tons E4* 16′ × 9.334′ × 1′ 11.2 US Tons 50 Pieces 560 US Tons Fa 37.334′ × 2′ Diam. 8.7 US Tons 147 Pieces 1,278.9 US Tons Fb 43.667′ × 2′ Diam. 10.2 US Tons 3 Pieces 30.6 US Tons Fc 39.000′ × 2′ Diam. 9.0 US Tons 3 Pieces 27.0 US Tons Fd 34.334′ × 2′ Diam. 8.0 US Tons 3 Pieces 24.0 US Tons Fe 29.667′ × 2′ Diam. 6.8 US Tons 3 Pieces 20.4 US Tons Ff 25.000′ × 2′ Diam. 5.8 US Tons 3 Pieces 17.4 US Tons Fg 20.334′ × 2′ Diam. 4.7 US Tons 3 Pieces 14.1 US Tons Fh 15.667′ × 2′ Diam. 3.6 US Tons 3 Pieces 10.8 US Tons Fi 11.000′ × 2′ Diam. 2.6 US Tons 3 Pieces 7.8 US Tons *Pieces marked with an asterisk may be cast in two equal pieces doubling the number and halving the weight of each piece See drawings for specific dimensions and weights of each piece and a diagram of the overall structure.

Referring now to FIGS. 21-24: Design standards are (i) withstand category 5 hurricane winds, (ii) withstand tornado force winds for standard duration, (iii) withstand storm surge forces, (iv) withstand seismic forces, (v) require no major maintenance. Quantity required: make 8 complete sections per one story structure, make 40 complete sections per 240′ structure. Note; each pie shaped glass enclosure consists of a truncated sloped glass section, a vertical front wall of 10′-0′ height and one vertical side wall. Each adjacent section forms the side closure for the next lower section. The side closure can be glazed or left open depending on the requirements of the uses.

For the purposes of pricing assume all sides are glazed. The drawings represent the major structural members only. The glazier can insert whatever number of smaller mullions in the larger openings as they see fit to obtain the strongest and most economical glazing option.

Referring now to FIG. 21, materials are 4×8 steel tube, insulated on exterior face and tied into thermally broken casing of infill glazing.

Referring now to FIG. 22, materials are 4×8 steel tube, insulated on exterior face and tied into thermally broken casing of infill glazing, and 1″ insulated engineered glass. 

1. A device comprising: (a) a spiral building having greenhouse enclosures mounted thereon wherein said greenhouse enclosures have a slanted glass surface over the growing trays which is oriented toward the perpendicular rays of the sun at the equinox and wherein the glazing in portions of the exterior is reversed from its normal orientation and the reflective surfaces are on the inside, thus reflecting the light admitted through the glass and directing it to parts of the interior growing area. 